Decisions, Decisions

It's 48 hours and counting before the start of what is usually my first triathlon of the season. The only problem is that this year instead of signing up weeks ago like I usually do, my entry to the Motor City Triathlon has been left in waiting. First because I was too lazy to sign up then delayed because of my injury, and now because I can't decide what's best. I thought I solidified my decision while trading messages with a friend who's in a similar predicament, but then a million thoughts raced through my head telling me otherwise. And now I can't decide what's right--do I swim and bike and skip the run, or do I skip the race altogether? It's almost exactly how I found myself a few weeks ago when I was convinced that I would walk, run or hobble my way through the 10 miles of the Soldier Field 10 no matter what. But I changed my mind at the last minute, realizing it probably wasn't the best idea since the doctor told me no running at my last appointment. Disappointed, yes. And determined to keep it from happening again.

Yet once again, my mind is racing. Finishing a century, or rather 75 miles of it because I didn't want to push too hard, is one thing. Racing a triathlon is another. And I'm stuck weighing the options.

Pros

• A guaranteed workout while visiting my parents in Michigan. I treasure these because otherwise it means a weekend of lazing around, eating and not exercising because the non-running choices become even more difficult to track down at their house.
• Participating in my first triathlon of the season, fourth time at Motor City, even if it only means swim and bike.
• Testing my skills at swim and bike when I don't have to worry about a 6.6-mile half-road, half-trail run afterward.
• In a weekend full of events--Ragnar Relay, North Shore Half Marathon, Ironman 70.3 Kansas, New York Mini 10K, Eagleman, SheROX and the Trek 100 to name a few that friends are racing--I'd be getting in on the action.
• I love this race! From the price to the smaller crowd, it beats what I'd find back in Chicago.
• Leaving town and leaving the craziness that is the Old Town/Wells Street Art Fair. It sounds terrible but instead of welcoming the street fair that interrupts our daily routine for two days, we leave town to escape it. And what better reason to leave than to have a race.

Cons 

• Missed opportunities to swim at the pool when the weather doesn't cooperate. This doesn't exactly relate to the race but I'm looking at the weather forecast and doubting my chances of swimming at the pool in Michigan. Skip the trip and I could swim indoors, no problem, back at home.
• Only being able to race the swim and the bike at the triathlon. 
• Knowing that I'd have to walk from the swim exit and up the beach to my bike. I'm usually a pretty fast swimmer and I couldn't help but think how many people would pass me in transition, and how long that transition would be.
• Knowing I'd have to stop after the bike. The competitor in me would want to continue. 
• Knowing I wouldn't be able to cross the finish line and claim a race time and medal. I already spent part of the week plotting a way to work through the run, but couldn't rally a relay partner to be my legs.
• Fearing the swim and the bike because of the race mode mentality. I know that I have to be careful, but without a cast, no one else would know that I'm recovering from an injury. What if I get kicked in the leg? What if I have a bike accident? What if I start running because that's what I'm used to? 
• Having to pass on yet another race--good thing I have yet to register.
• Bad weather. If it's cold like it's been in Chicago the past two days, the last thing I want to do is get in the water.

Now dear friends, I'm asking for your help to reach a decision on this race. Should I or should I not race in Sunday's Motor City Triathlon?